Tofu noodle bowl with citrus ginger soy

Ok guys, I found these House Foods brand tofu noodles and I had to give them a try. I’m always looking for new, healthyish and alternative ways of eating. I’m not gluten-free, vegetarian or vegan – but we do eat plant-based a few times a week and try to save our gluten intake for when we want garlic toast and sandwiches at home; or we’re eating out and want to indulge in whatever we want!

I make an asian style salad bowl at home quite often and thought they would be the perfect addition and they were. We picked up the spaghetti ones and the fettuccine ones and for this particular recipe I chose the fettuccine. They also have angel hair and macaroni – haven’t seen them in store, but when I do I will be giving these a try too.

Now of course if you can’t find these noodles, don’t worry you can use whatever noodles you want. Rice vermicelli noodles work really well, as do egg noodles if that’s your thing.

My favorite thing about this recipe is how bright and colorful it is. How can you not want to indulge in such a beautiful plate. And you know with all those natural reds, greens and yellows that this bowl is also good for you.

YIELD – 2 servings

INGREDIENTS

Citrus ginger soy dressing

1/4 cup of soy sauce

Juice from two mandarin oranges

1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger

1 tsp of minced garlic

Salad bowl

1 pkg. (8 oz.) of tofu shirataki noodles (or other noodle of choice), boiled, rinsed and drained as per package.*

2/3 cup red peppers

1 carrot

1 mango

1 cup of cherry or grape tomatoes

1 cucumber

2 handfuls of pea shoots*

1/2 cup of fresh snap peas, shelled*

1/4 cup thinly sliced red onions*

2 sprigs of each, Thai basil, mint and cilantro*

1/4 tsp. black sesame seeds for garnish*

DIRECTIONS

Rinse, boil, rinse and drain the noodles according to the package and set aside.

Put the dressing together. Add all the ingredients into a bowl and whisk until combined. Add 2 tbsp. of the dressing to the noodles and toss them until they’re well coated.

Next, cut up all your veggies. You can cut them up however you please, I like to do each veggie a little different to get some variety in textures. I leave the pea shoots as is, slice the red peppers, use a vegetable peeler to shave the carrot into ribbons, cube the mango, half the tomatoes, cut the cucumber into sticks (skin on) and pull the leaves off the herbs and leave them whole.

You can either throw all the ingredients into a large bowl together, add the dressing and toss until combined, sprinkle black sesame seeds overtop and serve; or you can do what I did above and split everything up into two portions and arrange on the plates. Lay the noodles down first and from there. Once all the veggies are on the plate, you can pour the dressing on, sprinkle with black sesame seeds and serve.

*Special Notes & Substitutions: If you can’t find the tofu noodles as mentioned before you can use rice vermicelli or any other noodle you like. You can use many things to substitute for the pea shoots – sunflower sprouts, a combination of microgreens & salad greens, or you can use any other greens you have on hand. If you don’t want to use fresh shelled snap peas, you can use snow peas (use the whole pea and pod), or edamame beans. If you don’t like red onions (Clint does not, but he has to eat whatever I make – haha), you can substitute green onions. For the herbs – if you’re one of those crazy people who doesn’t like cilantro, feel free to omit it and use more mint, and Thai basil; and if you can’t find thai basil give regular basil a try. Last but not least white sesame seeds work fine.

The great thing about this bowl is that you can substitute your favorite veggies and herbs for anything above. This is my recipe and we love it – but it’s really a guide to get you excited to put your own recipe together. Don’t get me wrong, if you make it as is, you won’t be disappointed but if you make some changes – it will still be awesome! The great thing is to use the beautiful veggies you get in your YYC Growers Harvest Box, or from the market or wherever you get your produce.

This tofu noodle veggie bowl is the perfect summer dish and can be thrown together in 15 minutes if you include cutting the veggies. It’s light and refreshing and great for lunch or dinner on the deck.

I hope this recipe (or your version of) becomes a staple in our house like it is in ours. It’s an awesome way to use the plentiful produce that’s out right now. And, it’s a great way to delight your guests with something they won’t know is so simple!